São Paulo – An attraction that Egypt’s tour operator Pan Arab Tours brought to tourism industry show WTM Latin America is a safari in the desert. However, the company’s CEO Amal Moussa says, this is only one of the leading landmarks of the country to compete with other destinations in the Arab world. WTM Latin America is held in São Paulo and brings together government tourism boards, airlines, tour operators, and hotels.
Moussa told ANBA that this is the first time that Pan Arab Tours comes to São Paulo, despite being the oldest tour operator in Cairo, founded in 1971. “We noticed that many Brazilians are going to Cairo. One reason is that Brazil doesn’t have a desert, and we offer safaris and tours in the desert,” said Moussa, mentioning the White Desert National Park.
She says that many Brazilians have sought Egypt as a tour destination following the pandemic and estimates that the country receives around 200,000 Brazilians a year. According to Moussa, Brazilian arrivals are expected to increase in the coming year, as Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi indicated the desire to work more closely with the Brazilian government to attract more tourists.
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Last February, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Egypt, where he held talks with El-Sisi on tourism-related topics. He visited some of the leading landmarks of the country like the Giza pyramid complex in Greater Cairo. In September last year, EgyptAir flights between Cairo and São Paulo were operated by a charter flight company but were discontinued. The two countries have worked to take up this route, to be operated by an airline from Egypt.
Summer vacation in Egypt
“Brazilians have gone to Egypt particularly in its summer months of June and July. They spend at least a week in the country, but an average of ten nights and 11 days. And they have Egypt as the sole destination of their trips. They don’t combine it with other countries,” she said.
Besides the desert, Moussa said, Brazilians also visit the cities of Aswan and Luxor, both in the south of the country. “Brazilians also love to stay at the beaches on the Mediterranean Sea and dive in the Red Sea,” she added. Other tourist destinations in Egypt that have been promoted by the local government are the Siwa Oasis, the New Administrative Capital, which is about 30 miles (45 km) from Cairo, and the Grand Egyptian museum (GEM) in Cairo.
Find out more on Pan Arab Tours.
Find out more on WTM Latin America
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
